Unlost
by aniche Lakiche
Summary: 'Welcome to the Destiny's Home for Gifted' Xion has always been 'different', but lived with it just fine until her father decided her 'gift' was the perfect reason to send her away. Somewhere with people like her. Where a blond boy struggles with his own problems, or everyone else's? Living in a commune can be hard especially when something, or someone, wants to destroy it.
1. Sunday

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are Square Enix's. :(:(:(:(**

 **Unlost**

Chapter 1: SUNDAY

Xion

CLOOONG! CLOOONG! CLOOONG! Was the sound the big grand-father clock made when the hand hit noon in the small rounded office where Xion and her parents where waiting for the head-master of the boarding school. The young girl couldn't get her eyes off her hands, she couldn't stand the idea of her parents abandoning her so far away from home.

Ms. Delacroix kept trying to get an eye contact from her daughter, but Xion wouldn't give her the satisfaction of looking back at her. Mr. Delacroix, on the other hand, kept staring at his Rolex despite the huge grand-father clock who asked nothing less than indicate what time it was. Xion's father was an important business man who was so workaholic that her mother had to lecture him intensely so he would agree on coming to this meeting. Although Xion couldn't care less if her father was there or not.

They had been sitting in this office for over twenty minutes now, Mr. Thewise, the head-master, was late and it was driving Xion's father crazy which only made the girl feel even more abandoned, not that she demonstrated any feelings.

The door clicked and a tall men with chin-length blond hair came in. He was dressed with a wine-red business suit and a black tie. He smiled at the family and walked to his desk with a folder in hand. He took place in his big leather chair before finally starting the meeting.

'' Welcome to the Destiny's Home for Gifted Mr. and Ms. Delacroix. Welcome to you too Xion.'' The parents responded with a light nod. As for Xion, she didn't even bother looking up. ''I am Mr. Ansem Thewise, I'm sorry for my lateness, something came up.''

'' No problem, we understand.'' answered to which her husband rolled his eyes. He never was a really patient man and never had a problem showing it.

'' So lets start. How long will you be staying with us Xion?'' He waited for the young girl to answer, but she didn't get her eyes off her hands. She had heard the question like everybody else in the room, but nothing she did showed that she had.

'' We were thinking, if everything goes well, until the end of her high school. Since she will be starting this year, we thought that it would be better for her not to make her change school along the way.'' Her mother finally answered.

 _Yeah right, for me... As if any of this was ''for me''_ Xion thought even though she didn't even flinch.

'' Alright.'' The man opened the file he had in hand and grabbed a pen on his desk. '' I will need your signature on these documents.'' He handed the said documents to Xion's parents. '' Once we are done with the paperwork, would you like to visit the establishment?''

'' Well, we would have loved to, but we are running late in our schedule, you see I am a really busy man, I can't put my job on hold like this. So we thought we would just come back to visit our daughter once she was all settled in.'' Ms. Delacroix gave the sting-eye to her husband, but didn't object to what he had said. As for Xion, her father's comment almost made her laugh, but she knew better than to upset the man. Plus, she didn't want to show any emotions towards her parents for the moment. They knew she didn't approve their decision of sending her away, but they had made it crystal clear that she had nothing to say in it.

'' Alright then. Visiting hours are, during the week from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., on saturdays you can come anytime between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and sundays between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., but everything is in the documents we have handed to you.'' Ansem didn't seem disturbed by Mr. Delacroix's comment.

 _He must be used to this kind of parents_ , Xion thought.

Once all the documents were filled it was time for goodbyes. Xion didn't say a word as her mother hugged her tight. As for her father, he moved forward to pull her in a hug, but she moved away. She knew it was more of his idea to send her away and she wasn't about to forgive him for it.

After her parents had left, Xion turned towards the head-master to wait for further instruction. The man smiled a her and signed her to follow him.

'' You will be moving in our girl dormitory. Your belongings are already in the room. Don't worry, you will only be three to share it.'' Mr. Thewise was guiding her further into the mansion towards the girls dormitory.

 _Only three girls in this entire place?_ It made her a little nervous that she would have to interact and live mostly with boys for the next few years. In middle school she went to a school for girls only, so the only interaction she really had with men was with her father and she barely ever saw him because he worked so much even on weekends.

'' You are lucky, you almost have the entire west wing to yourself. The boys dormitories are all in the east wing.'' He was a nice man, the fact that the girl didn't say a word didn't seem to bother him, he knew she was listening and he understood this could be hard for her and respected her silence. '' Aerith, the establishment's counsellor, who's office is down this hall, asked one of your roommates to tutor you for the first few days. Her name is Namine, I'm sure you will get along just fine.'' He had now stopped in front of a big wooden door. He knocked once. A blonde girl about Xion's size came to the door.

'' Yes Head-Master?'' She had a melodious voice.

'' I present you Xion, you will take care of her Namine? I am counting on you.'' He was looking down at the small blonde.

'' No worries. Come on in Xion and welcome!'' She pushed aside to let the new girl come in. Before he left, Ansem gave a document to Xion indicating the rules and said that if she had any problem she could go see him or Aerith.

The room was huge, definitely made for more than three occupants. The far wall was entirely windows which made the room lighted. Three beds were placed so each girls would have their little personal space with a desk and a dresser.

Xion walked around the room absently looking everywhere. She easily spotted her bed because of her boxes around it. Plus, the other two looked too occupied to be hers: The one right beside her's had plenty of papers piled on the desk with crayons everywhere and sketchbooks. And, the one closer to the windows was so full of clothes that you couln't even see the bed-sheets.

'' So, this is your bed, mine is the one in the middle and the one over there is Kairi's. She's out for the weekend, you'll meet her on monday.'' Namine startled Xion who was concentrated on inspecting the room. '' I'm Namine by the way.''

'' Xion.''

Namine nodded '' So, need a hand with your boxes?'' She offered breaking the silence that was settling in. Xion shook her head and walked slowly to her side of the room. '' Okay, I'll be back in half an hour then! I'll show you around afterwards, sounds good? Maybe you'll get to meet some of the guys! I don't know who's home today, Sundays are always pretty quiet here.'' She was babbling on and on when she noticed Xion had started taking care of her stuff and didn't seem to listen much. She just left the room.

Once Namine was gone, Xion sat on her bed taking her emotions in. She sighed, her head back staring at the tall ceiling. She thought that the blond girl seemed nice, but she wasn't in the mood to socialize. As she was thinking of continuing to unpack, she noticed a drawing on her nightstand. She grabbed it delicately and what she saw gave her goosebumps: it was her, not clearly with all the face details, it was more like a draft. Although it was detailed enough for her to recognize herself: the drawing showed a girl with short black hair sitting on what looked like a bed, wearing dark jeans, a red t-shirt and a black vest. Xion was exactly dressed this way and was, in fact, sitting on a bed.

'' What the hell?'' She thought out loud. She turned the piece of paper over to find a name or something, but the rest was all blank. She left the drawing on her bed and went back to her boxes, but she couldn't keep herself from glancing at it. something was odd.

Knock, Knock! Xion turned her attention to the door '' Who's there?'' She asked.

'' It's me.'' Namine answered as she came into the room. '' Oh, I see you found my gift!'' She was smiling like everything was normal.

'' This is from you?'' Xion was looking at the small blonde with an eyebrow up. She still had a pile of clothes in her hands, she was too confused to continue her work.

'' Yup! Thought you might like it!''

'' It's ...me?'' She was way passed confused.

'' Yup! I drew it last week before Aerith asked me to help you integrate. '' She kept smiling like everything was normal. Xion felt like there's something she was suppose to understand that she just couldn't get.

'' I don't get it.'' The dark hair girl finally asked hoping for clarification.

'' Oh! It's the first time you meet someone like you?''

'' Someone like me?'' She knew this school was for gifted, she also knew what gifted meant for her, but she had absolutely no idea what kind of ''gift'' others could have. She had indeed never met someone else ''Special''.

''Yeah! You know...different. I draw the future! I know it's weird. It's not even like if I was good at drawing.'' She was now sitting on Xion's bed, smiling with her eyes closed.

'' So you knew I was coming and just drew me?''

'' Not exactly. I drew this before I knew there would be a new girl.'' She was now looking at her own drawing, holding it in her hands. '' You see, I just sometimes feel like drawing, so I do and sometimes it ends up being a premonition. Like this one.'' She turned the sheet of paper towards the other girl. '' It's not even voluntary.''

 _How weird._ Xion thought.

'' What about you?'' The blonde asked, tangling her feet on the side of the bed.

'' What about me?''

'' What's your ''gift'''' She did the quotes with her fingers.

'' Oh. I find... stuff.'' Xion did not like to talk about her special ability. She just wished she was normal so her father would not have used this excuse to send her away.

'' How does it work?'' Namine looked really interested.

'' Well, I just think of an object and somehow it's location pops in my head.'' She explained while putting away the pile of clothes she was holding.

'' How cool! Any objects?'' The blonde girl was now standing.

''Y-yeah! But only objects. I tried once with my friends cat and it didn't work.'' The enthusiasm of her roommate was starting to work on Xion's mood, she felt more open to the subject. It was nice to see someone who saw her gift as something positive and not just an anomaly.

'' Okay, well... I lost a necklace somewhere about two weeks ago. I love that necklace, can you find it?'' She was now holding the dark hair girl's hand with both her own, full of hope.

'' I guess... what does it look like?''

'' It's a silver chain with a small blue heart pendant.''

Xion listened carefully, she closed her eyes and when she reopened them she knew where the necklace was. She freed her hand gently from Namine's grip and walked to the far end of the room where her other roommate's corner was. She paused at the feet of the bed and slowly turned to the night stand. '' It's in the second drawer, in a small glass box.'' She said while pointing at the furniture next to the bed.

'' I knew she took it! She told me she didn't when I asked. Damn Kairi!'' Namine ran to Kairi's corner and got her necklace back in a heartbeat.

'' What is Kairi's gift?'' Xion asked the blonde while she was still kneeling beside the bed her necklace in hand.

'' I'll let you figure it out yourself.'' She winked at the other girl while standing up and tying the jewellery around her neck.

Although Xion was curious, she didn't insist. The two girls finished unpacking all Xion's belongings and then the blond grabbed the ravenette's hand and pulled her out of the room. '' Come on, I'll show you around.'' She was cheerful. Xion didn't say anything, but just followed her. She knew that they would become good friends at some point.

Namine held Xion's hand all the way down the hall until they reached a small shared area. '' This is one of the study halls. There's four of them. This one is mostly for us girls because it's in our wing. Although the boys are allowed here they don't often come. They have one of their own which we are also allowed, but it's like an unwritten law that we don't share those places.'' The room wasn't big, there were two dark-red couches forming an L on the left corner and two computers on the other side with desks and four wooden chairs. Like the bedroom, this study hall had big windows that made the room really lit.

Namine then gestured to the other girl to follow her and they went down a huge staircase that joined in the middle with the one that leaded to the east wing. '' Of course, that way is the boys wing, it's a little bit bigger since they are more. There is three dormitories and we only have one. But, we are not allowed further than their study hall, like they aren't allowed further than ours.'' She didn't bother bringing the other girl there since she didn't think she would ever have to go.

They continued down the now joined stairs. Xion had already seen this place when Ansem had brought her to the west wing. It was a gigantic room that had many doors on either sides and a few corners with couches everywhere. '' This is the biggest shared area. If you have guests that are not your family, they are allowed only in this room and of course in the yard. There's a few corners where you can sit. Over there there's a few board games and a television in the back, as you can see.''

Xion didn't say much, she kept looking everywhere and listened to the other girls explanations. Until she saw a blond boy sitting on the side of a window in front, looking outside. '' Who is that?'' He was alone in the big room.

'' Oh! That's Roxas. Come, I'll introduce you, but don't speak too loud and don't move too close. He doesn't like that.'' Xion looked at her confused, but didn't have the time to say anything, the blond had already grabbed her hand and was leading her to the boy.

Once beside him, Namine spoke really softly. '' Hello Roxas. I want to present you are newcomer: Xion.''

Roxas looked at the blond before slowly turning towards the ravenette. He frowned and turned his head like a dog that tries to understand the sound he's hearing. Then he soften his face. '' Hi.'' He said slowly.

Xion thought this was kind of weird, but then again she wasn't used to meeting people ''like her'' so maybe this is normal. '' Hi?'' She answered not too sure what she was suppose to do or say.

He simply turned back to the window and Namine took back Xion's hand slowly leading her away from the boy. She waited until the blonde had brought her into an other room that seemed to be an other study all, but painted all bright white. '' What's he doing?'' She had thought about what she would ask about the boy and decided to go with an inoffensive question to start, although she had so many. She didn't know if it was okay to ask anything about him since Namine didn't look like she was going to give any explanation about the boy's weird behaviour. But, she couldn't help herself he was just too confusing.

''Roxas? Probably waiting for Axel.'' Xions was annoyed of how Namine always gave explanations like if she was suppose to already be aware of everything. It made her feel like if she was stupid not to see things that were so obvious.

''Who is Axel?'' She wanted to know more about the blond boy.

'' An other resident of the home. You'll probably meet him later. He leaves to see his mother on sundays, but he always come back before diner. He can't leave Roxas alone too long.'' What - the- hell - was all Xion could think. This was getting weird for the dark hair girl. She wanted to know more, to understand what was going on, but she felt bad asking her new comrade about it. It's like if Namine was confusing the other girl on purpose. Was she? Of course not, it was just her way of being. She always forgot how people don't always know what she knew. So, she tended to give brief answers and affirmations.

'' So, this is my favourite room. It's a study hall of course, but it feels kind of pure, don't you think?'' The blonde girl went back to explaining everything, pushing the other subject away. Xion nodded, giving up on learning more about Roxas, for now.

They continued. She showed the dining room and the kitchen. She introduced her to their cook, Tifa, who was a short dark hair woman that seemed nice. Then she showed her the library that was also the fourth study hall. '' And that's about it. Of course you know where the headmaster's office is and the counsellor's, who is really nice by the way, you can always go to her for anything. ''

Xion nodded bitting her bottom lip a bit. Namine was smiling at her. Then something strike her except Roxas and Namine, she didn't see any other residents. '' hum... Where is everyone?''

'' Out, I guess. Maybe some of the boys are in their wing. Like I said, sundays are always quiet here, especially when it's so sunny out. Wanna go sit outside?'' Namine was nice even though she had a strange way of skipping details. Xion only shrugged to answer her new potential friend.

They went by the back door that was located in the big room where they saw Roxas in earlier. Has they moved through the area, Xion looked towards the front window to see the blond boy again, but he had left his spot.

 _Maybe Axel came back._ She thought. _I guess I'll see them later._

The back house was beautiful with flowers and trees and a huge in grown pool. They sat under a tree to protect themselves from the burning sun. It was such a beautiful day. Summer was getting close to an end, but there were still a few beautiful days like this left before autumn came. Xion liked summer and she could tell that Namine did to. The blond girl was laying down on her back staring at the sky. She didn't seem to mind that her dress was plain white and that she was laying on some really green grass.

Xion had taken off her black vest and had laid it on the ground to put her head on so she wouldn't put dirt in her hair.

'' So, you didn't come here by choice am I right?'' Namine had broken the silence between them.

Xion slowly shook her head before remembering that the blonde was looking at the sky for she couldn't see her. '' No.'' She softly said.

'' Me neither.'' She turned her head and showed a sad smile to the dark hair girl.

Roxas

For most, sundays are the meaning of joy and freedom, but for Roxas it was the complete opposite. Time went slowly as he sat by the front window of the big mansion waiting for Axel to come back from is usual sunday outing with his mother. Like every sunday, Roxas hung around the Home, looking at the time every now and then to count the hours left before his friend came back and there were always too many.

That morning, Axel had woken up Roxas around eight, like he always did, and like every time the blond had faked sleeping too deeply to acknowledge his friend's goodbyes. He held onto his covers tightly enjoying the last glimpses of love Axel sent his way before leaving the room. Once the red head had shut the door behind him, like every time, Roxas felt empty.

He had dragged his emptiness around all day until he had finally given up on trying to make the time move faster and went to sit by his favourite window. He liked that window specifically because it gave him a view of the outside world while blocking everyone else's problems. By this window he could be a spectator without having to deal with everybody's feelings.

It was a beautiful day, he could see Demyx practicing his sitar by the tree in front and he could see the neighbour, even if he was far away in front, washing his car with his son. But what really got his attention was the odd car that was parked in front of the main office. He had never seen this car parked there before. It was a dark-grey Mercedes with dyed windows on the sides.

 _It must be the new girl._ He thought

They all had been informed that there was a new comer that was suppose to arrive sometime soon. Roxas had forgotten it was today.

 _That explains why I can hear Namine walking upstairs when she's normally out with the others on sundays._

He knew that the blonde girl had been chosen to take care of the new girl. _Poor her._ They all had thought. Not that Namine was mean or anything, but she could be really hard to follow, the poor girl would get all mixed up and scared on her first day. _They should've picked Kairi._ But, Namine had been so excited to be the designated guide that no one had the courage to oppose the decision. She was so happy for the rest of the week that Roxas had tried to stay close to her when ever he had to be with the commune. Her mood blurred the other's.

Roxas glared at the clock on his left: 3 hours and 20 minutes to go before Axel came back. He sighed and turned back towards the window in time to see a couple in their late forties leaving the main office and making their way towards the Mercedes.

 _Must be her parents. They sure look rich._ Roxas thought. The man, Xion's father, looked really annoyed and in a hurry. Roxas was glad to have the window blocking whatever energy that man gave off.

He stayed there, by his window: 3 hours left. 2 hours 35 minutes. 2hours... He continued counting down as the time flew with the slowness of a snail who had broken a leg. Until he felt someone coming close. He could sense that it was Namine with, he assumed, the new kid. Although he could feel the girl's presence, he waited until they came to him to turn his gaze off the window.

 _Maybe they won't come see me._ He silently hoped.

'' Hello Roxas. I want to present you are newcomer: Xion.'' He heard Namine almost whisper to him. He took his time to turn his head towards the two girls. He knew that as soon as he would face them he would be consumed by every single feelings they had. All he could do was hope that Namine was still on her little cloud she had spent the week on.

 _Come on Roxas, it's only two girls, you've faced worse._ He encouraged himself before finally looking at the girls.

First Namine was still happy, that was a good thing. But, as for the new one, (What was her name again? Roxas had already forgotten even though Namine had just told him) he could tell she was going through a hard time. He frowned at her.

 _What are those feelings? His she mad?... No, that's not it. She feels abandoned, that indeed. But, there's something else._ Roxas couldn't get his finger on what their new comrade was going through.

He realized he looked weird staring at the small dark haired girl, so he tried to shake it off. '' Hi.'' He softly spoke. He felt his voice break with this one word greeting du to the fact that it was the first word he'd spoken all day.

'' Hi.'' She barely had answered that he had turned back towards his favourite window.

 _I had my dose of social for the day._ He thought.

Something was odd though, even now that the girls had left the room, he still could feel this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. _Was that strange feeling I couldn't understand... from...me?_ Roxas didn't often feel things of his own, or at least not like that. He wasn't sure this came from him, but he didn't feel as empty anymore.

1hour and 30 minutes was what the clock shoved at him before he decided to go wait for Axel back in his room. He was a little confused, he tried to reassure himself by saying that it must be because they're the first persons he encountered today. Beside Axel, of course.

In his room he fell on his bed and stayed there, staring at the tall ceiling. He turned his head towards his nightstand where a round white hold-style alarm clock was. 1 hour 20 minutes. The clock was a gift from Axel '' So you won't wake up late anymore.'' He had said as Roxas had undone the wrapping around the gift. He remembered as he looked at the hand indicating the minutes slowly turning on it's axe.

Roxas wished Axel didn't leave every sunday, but when the red head had asked him if he preferred he'd stayed, Roxas had said no. He felt bad enough that his friend spent almost all his time with him. Specially since he was only taking advantage of the older boy's feelings. Axel loved Roxas with all his heart and Roxas loved to feel the love. It was so strong it blocked almost every other energies, moods and feelings he could encounter. He was addicted to it. Axel knew about this. He was aware that Roxas did not truly return his feelings, but he didn't mind. If he did, Roxas would feel it. Right? That's what he thought to reassure himself every time he started to feel guilty.

1 hour. Roxas closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. He started feeling empty again, whatever had came up earlier had faded away. It was easy to fall asleep when you felt empty.

When Axel came back, he found his friend still sleeping on top of his covers and simply went to lie beside him. He was careful trying not to wake the blond, but as soon as Roxas felt Axel's unusual warmth, he opened his eyes and immediately was consumed by love.

'' I missed you.'' He smiled.

'' I was only gone for a few hours.'' He was brushing the blond hair with his long fingers.

'' Felt like decades.'' He sighed.

 _Please don't leave me again._ He mentally begged. He wouldn't say it out loud because he was afraid Axel would actually stop seeing his mother to stay with him and he couldn't do that to him.

Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel's slim waste and pulled him closer to feel his abnormal warmth. He hadn't realized how cold he felt whenever his friend wasn't around. Axel wrapped his arm around the short boy and rested his head on top of Roxas'.

They stayed this way for a long time, but contrarily to while Axel was gone, the time now sped as fast as a running jaguar. Soon enough it was dark out and it was diner time. They untangled each other and slowly made their way to the dining room, holding hands.

Roxas only ate with the commune when Axel was there which was every night except thursdays where he had a meeting with the social services. Those night, Roxas preferred not to eat at all and just go to bed. It was better then face a room full of teens and their personal issues.

But, with Axel, everything was okay.

 **Author's note:** Hello! This is a all new approach for me! Tell me what you think, please! This story is a real challenge for me and I really want to know if you like it. I will decide rather I go on with it or not according to what you guys think of it. I feel pretty confident about it because I have planned it much more than the first one I've written. Anyway, Please give me your impressions or follow or like or private message... :) Thank you for reading

-Aniche Lakiche


	2. Chores-Day

Chapter 2: Chores-day

Xion

Monday morning, Xion woke up to her alarm clock. School wasn't starting until next week, but they had been told that today was going to be chores-day at the mansion and everyone had to participate. The plan was to get everything ready before school year: They had to close the pool and clean the entire mansion. Summer was officially over once Chores-day was passed.

As she made her bed, Xion was a little nervous, she knew she would meet the others today. She had met Demyx, Vanitas and, finally, Axel yesterday during diner. Of course, she had seen Roxas once more as well. She thought the boy was really quiet. He followed every move Axel made and the redhead treated the boy like a child. It looked like a really weird relationship, not that Xion wanted to judge or anything.

As for the others, Demyx seemed like a character. He kept going on about this instrument Xion had never seen before: a Sitar, was it? Finally, Vanitas was quite a quiet boy, but not in the same way Roxas was. He seemed very serious and only talked when Namine spoke to him, as if anyone else was not good enough for his attention.

The diner had went well, Xion was surprised to see none of the responsible adult join them. But, Namine had told her that they attended a few times a week, but rarely on weekends.

There's one thing that the dark-haired girl kept thinking about: Except for Namine, she still had no clue what were the other's gifts. It's like nobody ever directly talked about it. She didn't know if they knew about her's, but no one had asked, so she had done just the same. She was afraid she might offend someone if she went and just asked. After all, she never had met anyone with gifts similar to hers before, she didn't know how taboo this was.

'' Kairi should be here anytime now. I hope she wont be late because of Sora again!'' Namine had startled Xion out of her thought. She knew that Kairi was her third roommate, but she had no idea who was Sora she haven't even heard the name before.

Then, just like she was waiting for the cue, the door opened and a small girl with shoulder length hair the colour of red wine came in.

'' Hello!'' She exclaimed before seeing the new girl. '' Oh. Hello.'' She walked towards Xion and handed her hand. '' I'm Kairi'' She smiled, showing her perfectly white teeth.

''Xion.'' She gave her an unsteady hand shake. It made Xion nervous to meet new people like this.

'' Nice to meet you! Hope my sister treated you well! We were a little worried when we found out she had been designated to be your guide!'' She smiled to the new girl while pointing her thumb towards the blonde.

'' Hey! Of course I was a great host! right Xi?''

'' You guys are sisters?'' Xion was confused. She tried to go back over the weekend with the blonde girl and every conversation they had, and she was 99% sure that Namine had never mentioned that Kairi was her sister.

'' You didn't even mention that?'' The red head exclaimed to her sister., astonished. '' Don't worry about that, if you have any questions, you can come to me. My sister always forgets that you cannot know everything she knows.'' She was now facing Xion smiling at her.

'' Not true! I am very considerate! No fair Kai!'' The blonde was now standing right next to Kairi, defending herself, both her hands on her hips. But, now that she thought about it, Xion did see what Kairi was talking about, so many times she had only gotten vague answers from the blonde which had made her really confused and annoyed.

'' By the way, you lied to me! You did have my necklace! The one Mama gave me!'' Oupsy they were going to start an argument because of Xion. Now was the time for the dark haired girl to leave the two siblings alone, before getting dragged in a family argument.

She left the room and none of the two girls tried to stop her. She went down the hall all the way to the stairs. She thought she would probably find Mr Thewise or someone who was designated the coordinate the cleaning. But as she reached the gigantic main room, she realized no one was inside.

 _Maybe they decided to start with the exterior._ Xion thought to herself. They had mentioned at diner the night before that they where suppose to close the pool, maybe they were starting with that.

She walked across the gigantic room towards the glass doors that leaded to the backyard. As she passed them, she noticed a small group surrounding the pool. Apparently she was right and it was their first chore.

She never had taken care of a pool before, but she thought now was the time to learn. She slowly joined the small group where she only recognized Vanitas. There were two other boys that she had never met, one with shoulder length silver hair and one with spiky cinnamon hair.

'' Hi.'' She said as she came close to the group.

'' Oh! Hi! you must be the new girl? My name is Sora.'' The spiky haired boy introduced himself, smiling one hand behind his head. '' This is Riku and Vanitas.'' He pointed at the others.

'' Xion'' She said. '' So what are you guys up to?'' She asked when she noticed no one seemed to be working at all. She had no idea how to close a pool, but she was pretty sure it implied more than just standing there staring at the water.

'' We're waiting for Dem to come out.'' The silver haired boy said with an exasperated voice, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Xion looked down into the water and saw the blond from the night before, sitting at the bottom of the deep part of the pool. She frown, _How long as he been down there?_ She thought.

'' Come on Dem! '' Sora whined even though the boy could probably not hear him from under water. '' He does that every year when it's time to close the pool. He says it's his way to ''protest'''' He did the quotations with his fingers.

Xion was starting to worry because Demyx had been under water for awhile now and wasn't coming up. The other boys stayed calm, but the girl's first aid senses were started to kick in. She had worked as a lifeguard at the school's pool last year and her instinct were screaming at her to help the boy.

She looked at the others who didn't seem to worry at all. But, there was no more time to just stare and question the situation. The blond had been under water for way too long now and that's without counting the time he was already there before she joined the group.

She felt her heartbeat increase as she was taking a decision. _No time to hesitate!_ She encouraged herself. '' Guys! He's been under way too long!'' And without waiting for an answer coming from the others, she took off her shoes and dived.

The water was warm and she tasted the salt as soon as her face touch the surface. It was a salt-water pool which somehow made it harder to swim towards the bottom and got Xion thinking how did the boy stay at the bottom when salt tended to make you float?

She swam deeper until she reached Demyx. She grabbed him under the shoulders and started swimming up. She got confused when he fought against her. He freed himself and followed her to the surface.

'' What the hell?'' Said the blond boy has they reached the surface. He was obviously irritated. Xion frowned at him, not knowing what to say or even think.

'' You were... Drowning?'' All four boys, even the serious Vanitas bursted into laughter. Xion blushed, feeling embarrassed without even knowing why.

'' I can't drown!'' Demyx exclaimed between two laughter. Sora was holding his stomach for it started to hurt out of laugh while Riku held Sora's shoulder to hold himself up while laughing. As for vanitas, he didn't exactly ''Burst'' into laughter, but he chuckled a little and smiled.

'' I don't understand.'' Xion was now pulling herself out of the water, followed by Demyx.

'' I can stay under water for hours if I wish.'' The blond explained still laughing a little.

 _I guess it's is gift?_ Xion thought.

'' At least you got him out of the pool! That's a win!'' Sora exclaimed still laughing, but at Demyx this time who had got caught.

'' Pff. I was getting bored anyway!'' The blond defended himself which only made the brunet laugh more. Demyx crossed his arms while sitting on the edge of the pool, not enjoying being laughed at. Xion was happy she wasn't the one they made fun of anymore.

After finally catching their breath, they all five teamed up to start cleaning the gigantic yard. It took them all day. They closed the pool and mowed the lawn and weeded it. All the while she wandered why they didn't just hire a gardener to do the job, when she asked, Sora told her that the headmaster didn't want them to become '' lazy brats''. Xion was sure the headmaster hadn't use these exact words, but that's how Sora said it.

She wasn't too sure how she ended up with the garden-chores team, but she was happy she got to spend the day outside. She thought Sora was nice, he was bubbly and fun to be around. As for Riku and Vanitas, they where two serious boys, but in really different ways. Riku seamed to have a lot on his mind and to be really intent as he worked. As for Vanitas, he seemed to think he was over all this. Xion didn't quite like his attitude. Demyx on the other hand, didn't take the job seriously at all. He kept goofing around and being distracted by everything. Plus, when he actually did work, someone - Riky- always had to redo what he had done because it was botched. After a few hours, the silver-haired boy had enough of it and just told him to quit working and go do something else- ''get lost'' were his exact words.

Roxas

Roxas woke up early that morning, surprised to see his roommate, Zexion, hadn't returned from his weekend camping trip yet. Oh well! who was he to worry about the other boy. They weren't even friends. The blond barely tolerated him. Sure he was calm and quiet, but they didn't have much in common. Zexion was really studious and didn't like to be disturbed while he worked, so he often kicked Axel out of the room whenever he visited Roxas.

The blond would have preferred to share a room with Axel, but the headmaster didn't approve because of their ''relationship''. _Whatever._ Roxas told himself it could have been worst, he could have end up sharing a room with Demyx, or worst, Sora. Even though the latest was his cousin, he couldn't stand being around him. Actually, it's Sora who couldn't stand Roxas. He thought the blond was way to cynical and took life way too seriously. His exasperation made Roxas gloom even more than he already did. So he avoided his cousin like plague.

After a few minutes of wondering why his roommate hadn't showed up yet, he decided to stop thinking about it and enjoy the tranquility of not having someone else in the room. He made his bed slowly and cleaned up the room. It wasn't really long because the two boys shared the smallest dormitory of the establishment. It had only enough space for two twin beds on either side a dresser each at the foot of their beds and a large desk with two chairs under the window that separated the two beds.

Once he was done with his room, he decided to go see what Axel was up to. _Probably cleaning his own room_ , the teen thought. Indeed, he was. Roxas knocked on the tall wooden door and waited for his friend to open, hoping it would actually be him to come to the door rather than one of his two roommates.

The redhead opened the door and smiled as he saw the blond. He had tied his hair back in a tight bun to keep it out of his eyes as he cleaned. Roxas always found that Axel looked funny when he did that with his hair. It looked so flat on his head that it was almost hard to believe that normally it defy gravity.

Axel pushed the door open wide and opened his arms to let the blond nestled against his chest, taking the warmth in. The taller boy pressed his chin on top of the smaller one's head, wrapping his arms tightly around the blond. They stayed this way a few seconds before Roxas entered the room and Axel closed the door behind them.

Roxas was happy that Axel's two roommates, Riku and Vanitas, weren't in the room. He didn't hate the boys, but they were way too overwhelming for the young blond. Riku always felt some dark pain even when he looked happy and Vanitas could be really mean when he was grumpy, which was 90% of the time.

'' So? Which housework do you feel like doing today?'' Axel asked his friend both his hands on the youngest's shoulders.

'' I don't know. Feel like cleaning the boy's wing? I think the other are all on chores elsewhere.'' Roxas didn't really mind what cleaning they would do as long as they did it together and that they wouldn't have to team up with too many people.

'' Alright! You have bathroom duty!'' Axel shouted while pushing Roxas on his bed and running off down the hall.

'' Hey! no fair!'' Roxas replied, trying to get back on his feet. Too late, his friend was gone down the hall. Even though he would probably end up cleaning the bathroom for real, Roxas knew the redhead was kidding. He smiled a half smile, still feeling the warmth of the taller boy in his heart.

They cleaned the boy's wing throughout the entire afternoon taking a few breaks just to be together. He indeed took care of the bathroom which wasn't as bad as we would think of a boys bathroom. Axel took care of the study hall and the floors in the hall.

Once Roxas was done with the bathroom, he peaked in the corridor to see if Axel was near, but didn't see him anywhere. He thought of going back to his room or look for his friend, but the floors in front of the bathroom were wet, freshly clean. _I won't ruin is work,_ Roxas thought. He was sure the tall boy wouldn't mind if he walked on the humid floor to join him, but the blond would feel guilty to force his friend to redo his job.

Instead, Roxas turned back in the bathroom and went to sit by the window. It didn't have any curtains or wasn't blurry because it was too high for anyone outside to see inside. So, by sitting on the edge he could see the entire yard without anyone seeing him.

He saw Vanitas and Riku closing the pool, Demyx in a corner, standing there, doing who knows what and finally Sora and the new girl, Xion - he had learned her name at diner the night before - taking care of the lawn.

He felt a smile softly pull on the left corner of his lips as he watched the ravenette. He haven't talked to her at diner, but when she wasn't looking he stole glances at her every now and then. He wanted to understand what was that feeling he kept picking up every time he looked at her. It wasn't really strong, but it was enough for him to feel it even with Axel right beside him.

It wasn't unpleasant actually, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was nor where it came from. He couldn't be absolutely sure it came from her, it was too different.

'' Hey! Almost finish? Need a hand?'' Axel was standing in the door frame. He made Roxas jump, which was weird because the blond always knew when his friend was near even when he wasn't in sight.

'' Oh, hey. No, it's okay, I'm done.'' He smiled to the redhead.

'' Alright, let me do the floors in here and then we can go grab a bite or something.'' Axel was waving his mop to the blond as if it was a sword. The younger boy rolled his eyes before climbing down the window frame and leaving the bathroom, not staying too far from the entrance.

Xion

When the group she had joined had finished their chores outside, Xion dragged her feet up to her room, exhausted. Once in front of her dormitory's door, she leaned her head on the wood and took time to breath a little before opening the said door. She wanted to grab her stuff and head to the showers, but she was afraid she would walk on a fight between the two siblings like the one that had been going on when she left that morning.

After a few seconds, Xion took a deap breath and slowly pushed the door, glad to notice the silence that reigned in the room. She sighed of relief, she definitely did not have enough energy left to get into the middle of any fight.

She walked into the big room, appreciating the dim light that was the result of the sun set coming in trough the gigantic windows. It tinted the white walls various shades of oranges and red. It made the room seem really peaceful and Xion couldn't help but feeling warm inside. The day wasn't so bad. It was her first complete day here at _Destiny's Home for Gifted_ and it had made her think that maybe, just maybe, living here would actually be okay.

At her previous home, she always felt so lonely with her mother always keeping herself busy with whatever came up just to forget how her husband neglected her and the latest, Xion's father, who was, in fact, away most of the time. Plus, it wasn't in school where she socialized the most - a school for girls can be tougher than we may think. It made it hard for Xion to make friends at all.

So, maybe, just maybe, this would be the place where she could finally fit in. After all, she had spent the day with almost half of the commune and everything had went just fine, except for the incident with Demyx, but it was already forgotten.

Xion Slowly walked to her dresser and grabbed a few clothes and her Cleaning supplies before leaving the peaceful room. The bathroom she was sharing with Namine and Kairi was just the other side of the corridor. It showed the same kind of door than the dormitory, but had a classic sign that indicated it was a girls bathroom to distinguish them.

She took the longest shower she had ever taken, cleaning all the dirt and sweat from her day of yard-work. She appreciated the shower even though it was the same kind you could find in schools where there where two, one beside the other, which where made private by a simple curtain.

Once her never-ending shower actually ended, there was almost no more hot water. The young ravenette got dressed and returned to her room without thinking about her roommates. She pushed the door and found Namine sleeping on top of her covers and Kairi standing near Xion's bed.

'' Kairi?'' Xion frowned wondering what the redhead was doing in her share of the room.

Kairi slowly turned around and Xion froze. The girl was holding her teddy bear, she had a look of confusion on her face before smiling. '' You must be really close to your father.'' The statement was soft and innocent for the redhead, but to the ravenette it felt like a stab directly trough the heart.

Xion Froze and took a deep breath. _How could she?_ Xion went to the other girl and pulled the stuffed toy out of the her hands. She then heavily walked to the trash can and dropped the bear in it before storming out of the room, not bothering to shut the door behind her.

 _What is wrong with her? Who do she thinks she is? We barely know each other and she thinks she can go through my stuff like that?_ It wasn't actually the fact that Kairi had taken Xion's old bear that annoyed the dark haired girl, it's what she said. The toy was a gift from her father. He had won it at a funfair a few years ago. It was the first and the last time Xion had ever spent a day alone with her father.

That day, the man had an important meeting that had been cancelled and Xion didn't have school, she was only eight at that time. The Nanny had called sick and her mother was on a trip with a group of friends. All the odds where forcing Xion's father to spend the day with his daughter. Xion never understood why he had decided to do something special with her instead of just working at home and letting her play alone like she normally did. But, when he had told her they were going to this fair, Xion got super excited and it had ended up being the best souvenir she had of her father. Hell! It was the best souvenir she had of her entire childhood.

The thing is, although Xion had thought that they both had a great time, her father never brought her anywhere again. She had ended up thinking it was a one side good memory and only to think of it pained her. She still had kept the toy to remind her that, once, her dad had tried to be a real father to her. But, Kairi's comment, even though she didn't mean it that way, sounded sarcastic to Xion's ears and it had got her angry. It had felt as if the wine-red haired girl had mocked her and it made her furious.

She hadn't notice that while raging inside, she had walked as far as down to the main shared area. She didn't think while letting her feet guide her, not noticing that she was heading out of the mansion. She felt like leaving right this instant. It had been such a good day and it all had been ruined in a split second.

'' Where are you going?'' A soft voice was heard behind her as she reached the front door.

Roxas

Roxas was leaving the kitchen where Axel and him ate a bowl of cereal. There were still two hours left before diner and the two teens were hungry from all the cleaning they had been doing. Axel had stayed in the kitchen, cleaning their plates. He had instructed Roxas to go wait for him upstairs, they planned on watching a movie before diner.

The blond had barely set foot in the main area that he had felt an outburst of anger float in the air, feeling immediately mad himself for absolutely no reason. He looked up to see the ravenette storming towards the front door. She didn't look at him, probably not noticing his presence while she passed him by.

'' Where are you going?'' He had spoken without his own permission. He rarely spoke to anyone, especially if they haven't spoken to him first. - Except for Axel, of course.

The girl had frozen from his words. They were barely audible but still, they had stopped her. Now, Roxas had no idea what to say, looking at his hands while cracking his fingers.

'' I'm leaving.'' Xion had turned around to see who was speaking to her. Roxas could feel her anger, but also her sadness. He felt it as his own, and it confused him, like it most of the time did when he felt strong feelings coming from others.

They had been staring at each other for a few seconds. Roxas knew it was his turn to speak, but he didn't know what to say. _Why is she leaving like this? Aren't we good enough for her?_ He was channeling emotions and wasn't running away from them like he usually did it fogged is thoughts as if he was the one angry.

'' Why?!'' It had came out harsh, but hell! He felt the same as she did, so he answered in a tone that matched the emotions.

'' What's your problem?'' Xion snapped.

'' What is YOUR problem?'' His answer surprised him to the point that he stepped back, betraying is confident tone.

'' I can't stay with the two wackos up-stairs!'' She almost yelled. Roxas stayed silent not knowing what to say. But then she calmed down a little and the blond felt as if he could breath again. He haven't even noticed he was holding his breath. '' It's just...I don't know.'' The girl sighed, her tone calmer.

'' What happened?'' He wasn't good at this, he rarely confronted anyone, but had been to a lot of therapy and just picked a phrase he had often heard in those.

'' Kairi said something. She went through my stuff and took something and I don't know how she knew it was a gift, but... She wasn't allowed!'' She had started her explanations calmly, but had ended up clenching her fists. Xion, was frowning, her head down.

''Oh.'' Roxas felt that the girl was confused and he understood why. '' Guess you didn't know what Kairi's special ability was before?'' Xion lifted her head slowly to look at the boy although Roxas wasn't looking at her. It was easier for him to channel emotions if he didn't make eye contact with the source.

'' I don't understand.'' Xion's tone was soft now, her curiosity was getting the best of her.

'' She sees memories from objects that have a strong enough energy. I don't know what she told you, but she only saw the memory linked to the object. She doesn't know the whole story.'' He bit his lip. They normally didn't speak of others' gifts. It was a form of respect to leave the concerned person reveal his ability. '' Don't blame her. She barely controls it. The twins have been through hell and back, Kairi kind of feeds on others' good memories.'' he shrugged, still nervously playing with his fingers.

Roxas didn't know what was pushing him to talk so much, it's like if Xion's curiosity had the effect to make him reveal whatever she wanted to know. That or this strange feeling that was eating up to him again now that the anger had dissolved a little. He couldn't tell, but he had spoken to Xion more in these past 5 minutes than he had with anyone else in the past year. - Except Axel, of course.

'' Hey! You're still down here?'' Speaking of which, the redhead had just came out of the kitchen. He looked from Xion to Roxas repeatedly while walking towards the blond.

'' Heum... Yeah, I was just talking to Xion.'' Roxas scratched the back of his head. He was more comfortable now that Axel was near him and he felt his shoulders relax a little.

'' Oh. Hello Xion.'' He nodded to the girl an arm around the blond's shoulders.

'' I think I'll go back upstairs. See you later.'' The ravenette left the room climbing up the stairs towards her dormitory. Walking ten times slower than she had while coming down. She had to clarify things with her two roommates.

Axel didn't push to get more details out of the blond about his conversation with the new girl and Roxas was thankful for it. Instead, the redhead leaded the blond towards his room where they would watch some movie on the older boy's laptop.

 **Author's note:** Hey guys! I was planning on updating sooner, but kind of ran out of time. Plus, this weekend I was in New York (which is pretty far from home) for the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra. It was so GREAT! But, now I'm a little sad that's it's in the past. You see I had my tickets for over a year and I was so much looking forward to this, that I can't believe it's over. Oh well, still I am so happy I got the chance to see it. Have you? Please, If you've seen it I would love to talk about it with you!

Anyway, so this is chapter two. I'm putting a lot of time into this. For those who haven't read my previous story, english isn't my first language so it makes the task a little more difficult for me. Although I do believe I am getting better at it and it's mostly because of fanfictions eheh! This said, I will try my best to update sooner my next chapter.

Sorry for all mistakes, typos and such, if you see any feel free to point them out and I will do my best to correct them. If not, it's okay. :)

Please review/follow/like... I love to know what you guys think of my work. Critiques are always welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

-Aniche Lakiche


	3. Thursday

Chapter 3: Thursday

Xion

The conversation she had with Roxas got Xion thinking. She wasn't just going to pity the twins, especially since she had so little details on their lives, but she had decided that she could give them an other chance.

When Xion had gone back to her room, she was surprised to find her teddy bear back on her dresser and not in the garbage can, but she didn't say anything about that. Kairi was sitting by the window her head against the glass and Namine had left the room. Her two roommates' fight had probably woken her up.

Xion had sat beside the redhead silently. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she didn't want to leave things the way they were. Now that she wasn't angry anymore, she felt bad for snapping at Kairi the way she had.

'' I'm sorry I went through your stuff, I over stepped.'' Kairi had been the one to break the silence. She had spoken in a low voice that gave away that she had cried. She hadn't left her sight off of the glass has she spoke.

'' It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you.'' The raventte replied, leaning her head against the glass just like Kairi. Noticing that her roommate had probably been staring at her own eyes' reflection all along, since the darkness of outside was making it impossible to see.

'' You had every right to.'' Kairi sighed and left her spot on the floor. Xion followed her movement, waiting for her to continue. She wanted to know more about the siblings she was sharing a room with, but she wasn't sure if it was okay to ask. Although, the redhead didn't continue.

'' Maybe, we can start over?'' Xion suggested, getting to her feet as well.

Kairi nodded without saying a word. The dark haired girl found it weird to see her roommate like this since she seemed so bubbly when they first met, only a few hours prior.

But, the rest of the week had gotten better and they became closer. - All three of them. Although Xion never got anymore explanations. She knew that they weren't there by choice, Namine had told her the first day, again, without any explanations. She knew Kairi could see past souvenirs from certain objects and that Namine had vision of the future. But, it was all.

Thursday morning Xion had woken up before her two roommates. School was right around the corner and it was making her nervous. She had learned that she wouldn't be attending the same school as the twins since her father had insisted she went the a private school and her new friends where attending a public one. She cursed her father for being so full of prejudice towards public school for she has always hated private institutions. At least it wasn't a girls only school, she comforted herself. Even if being around boys had made her nervous when she first got to the mansion, she preferred that to being only around girls. Plus, attending a private school she would have a uniform, which took away the 'what-do-I-wear' stress. One less thing to worry about.

Still, it made her nervous to start in a new school where she wouldn't know anyone. So nervous, that she barely slept at all.

7 a.m. was the time her cellphone showed when she opened her eyes. the light was dim in the room, Kairi had closed the curtains before she went to bed, like she always did. Since her bed was the one closest to the window, it was her responsibility, even if they never officially assigned it, like Xion's was to close the light since she was the closest to the switch.

Xion had dressed up in complete silent, making sure not to wake up the other girls, and left the room. Her stomach was growling of hunger, the night before she barely ate diner because of a stomach bug.

She calmly walked down stairs wearing her socks. The mansion was so peaceful with everyone still sleeping. As she set foot in the main area, she was surprised to hear voices coming from the kitchen, the room where she was heading.

She reached the big wooden door and hesitated before opening it, she tried to recognize who's voice it was. She could tell it was a man's voice and a woman's, but she couldn't tell who it was. Her stomach growled once more and she opened the door.

'' Hang on Tifa, I got this.'' Axel was wearing an apron and was bending over to open the oven. The dark haired woman Xion had met on her first day known to be the cook, was pushing out of the way to leave the redhead have it's way to the oven.

'' Oh. Hi Xion. Early bird I see?'' The woman smiled to the girl. The said girl was a little surprise to find that the woman remembered her name since they haven't talked since Xion's first day.

'' Hum, yes. Well, I was hungry.'' Xion answered scratching her left arm with her right one. She felt a little unease since she didn't know the two others that much.

'' Well, we are making waffles! You can help if you like!'' Axel offered grinning at the ravenette. He was holding a big pan full of cooked waffles in his hands while Tifa was stirring the dough with a big wooden spoon in a glass bowl.

'' Sure, I'll help.'' Xion bit the inside of her cheek. She was hungry but she couldn't just go around the others and grab something, plus waffles sounded great, might as well help.

'' There are some fruits in the fridge that need to be washed and cut. Can you take care of this?'' Tifa smiled at her new helper. Axel often helped in the kitchen, but rarely anyone else came to give a hand. Cooking for a horde of teenagers wasn't always an easy task.

Xion slowly went to the fridge and grabbed some strawberries and grapefruits. She proceeded to prepare those with the instructions Tifa gave her.

They were silently cooking when something drew Xion's attention. As Axel took the second batch of waffles out of the oven, she noticed that he wasn't wearing any oven-mittens or anything that could be used as protection to prevent being burnt by the hot pan. The girl frowned out of confusion.

'' I don't burn.'' Axel had notice her staring and had understood the confusion the small girl was going through in her head.

Xion relaxed her frowned, she didn't understand right away what the redhead was talking about. At first, her logic told her the oven mustn't have been warm enough, but the waffles did look cooked, so it wasn't possible.

'' My 'gift'...'' Axel continued.

''Oh'' Xion let out, nodding. She was shy beside Axel, he was tall and slim and handsome. Plus, he had this vibe like he was so sure of himself. It somehow made her uncomfortable.

'' Touch my shoulder.'' Axel was now right next to the ravenette leaning down. Xion looked at him surprised, not sure what to do. '' Go ahead, touch it!'' He insisted.

Slowly Xion let the knife she was holding down and lifted her hand towards the tall boy's shoulder. When her fingers brushed the pale skin she almost jumped. Axel was burning hot, as if he was suffering of a very high fever. Her frown was back.

'' Yup. My body his 10 degrees hotter than a normal human being. My parents made me see so many specialists when I was a child and they never found out why. Apparently it's my 'gift'.'' Axel shrugged as he explained.

'' And you can't get burned?'' The ravenette had spoken in a low tone, her voice almost broke she had to clear her voice.

'' Nope. '' Axel was back to the pan, taking the waffles out and putting them onto a plate.

'' That's pretty cool!'' She was happy someone finally just came and told her what was his gift. It made things easier, she had been at the mansion for four days now, and she didn't even know half of everybody's special abilities. Plus, she was afraid to get herself into something embarrassing like what happened whit Demyx again.

'' I guess. I've been like this for as far as I can remember. What about you?'' That was something else, no one asked about her gift either.

She explained it to him like she had to Namine last Sunday. '' Woah! Forget about my gift, yours is way better!'' He exclaimed himself, making the young girl blush. Axel playfully pushed Xion with his elbow before returning to the oven. ''So if I'm looking for something I'll come and see you!'' He winked.

Tifa found the exchange between the two teenagers sweet. It wasn't always easy to fit in and she found Axel really nice to be friendly with the new girl like this. The woman remembered when she was young, her parents moved from town to town almost every year because of their jobs and she had to change school every time. So, she knew what it was like to be the new girl.

By the time they finished cooking breakfast, almost everyone was up. Xion could hear the other teens moving around in the mansion. She was still hungry. The ravenette had manage to steal a few pieces of fruits while she was cutting them, but still she wanted a meal. The smell of the waffles was becoming real torture.

Tifa instructed her two helpers to go join their comrades in the dining room where they had set the plates of fruits and waffles. Axel had told Xion that they didn't always have such elaborated breakfasts, but he had asked for it that morning. It was Thursday and he knew he would be leaving this afternoon to meet with the social services, like every week, and it made Roxas nervous. Waffles where his favourite and the redhead wanted to make his friend a surprise.

They reached the dining room and Xion immediately went to sit with her two roommates. Seeing Namine, Vanitas to her left, her head leaning against her right hand with her elbow resting on the table. The blond obviously wasn't a morning person, Xion had learned that throughout the week. As for Kairi, she was the opposite: bubbly and full of energy. She kept throwing ripped pieces of her napkin at Sora who was sitting across from her. Apparently those two where dating. The boy was a little like Namine, tired, his head resting on the table, his eyes closed.

Riku was sitting beside the brunet, poking him in the ribs making the younger teen growl each time. Demyx was playing Sitar while Vanitas looked at him annoyed. The latest sitting closer to Namine than he should, but the blond girl didn't seem to mind. Either she was too tired to notice or she was used to it.

As for Roxas he was nowhere to be seen. Xion saw Axel looking around the room. He looked at the ravenette and signed her that he was going to look for the blond. Xion nodded and the older teen left.

Roxas

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Roxas' alarm was going off. He hadn't set it, must have been Axel before they went to bed the night before. The blond closed it and turned on his back to face the ceiling. He saw from the corner of his eyes that his roommate's bed was still intact with no traces of Zexion. He hadn't seen the young man in almost a week now and when the Headmaster had interrogated him about it, he understood that something was wrong. He wasn't friend with the boy, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about him.

Roxas bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't feel like getting up, it was Thursday, he knew what this meant. The day would be very very long. Why start it early? He pulled the covers over his head and closed his eyes again.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Of course Axel knew Roxas wouldn't wake up with the first alarm so he programmed a second one to go off a few minutes later. Roxas pushed the covers off of his face in a quick movement and pressed on the button of his clock. He sighed, _Damn it Ax!_

Roxas sat in his bed looking at the time for the first time: 8:00 A.M. So early. Breakfast would probably be served in half an hour, but Roxas didn't care. He didn't want to handle a room full of teenagers, especially on Thursdays. Maybe, if he stayed long enough, Axel would sneak a plate out of the dining room and bring it to him like he sometimes did.

The blond wrapped himself in his blanket like a burritos and laid against his pillow in a sitting position. He often did this when he lived back at his parents': his alarm would go off and he ignored it. His parents left early for work so they didn't know he skipped school. He used to wrap himself in his blanket and hide all day until his parents came back. Until they found out and made sure he couldn't do it anymore. That's actually when things started getting bad. He couldn't bare the thought of going to school, he had no friends and felt like the weight of the world was crashing over his shoulders. He finally ran away and lived for a whole week on the streets before he ran into Ansem TheWise. The headmaster knew immediately that the blond was gifted and brought him to the mansion. Of course his parents now knew where he was, but the blond still couldn't face them. He first got to the mansion 1 year and 3 months ago, and still he hadn't seen his parents since.

The sound of his doorknob wiggling brought Roxas out of his thoughts. The door slowly opened and instantly Roxas knew it was Axel. He could feel it. He was happy at first, but his smile faded when he realized Axel wasn't bringing him a plate. He knew the redhead was coming to get him.

''No.'' He said while tightening the blanket around himself and laying on his side.

'' Roxas... I made waffles!'' The redhead approached the blond's bed and sat behind the younger teen.

'' I don't want waffles. I want to stay in bed.'' Roxas was acting like a child and he knew it. He didn't care, he wasn't getting up anytime soon.

'' Come on Rox! It will be fine, it's no different than any other Thursdays or Sundays.'' The redhead was rubbing the blond's back softly.

'' No, because school is starting in a few days and it will be everyday like Thursdays or Sundays.'' Roxas curled up a little more on himself. The blond didn't go to public nor private school. Aerith schooled him directly at the mansion. Ansem and Roxas had an agreement, the blond would be home schooled as long as he participated at social activities whenever there were some planned and that he followed a therapy with the counsellor, a.k.a Aerith.

'' It wouldn't be if you came to school.'' Roxas turned to faced his friend, his face was saying: are you really suggesting that!?. '' Okay, I know, sorry.'' Roxas curled back on himself, but this time leaning against Axel's chest. '' Know what? You come eat waffles, which I know you love, and then we do whatever you want.'' Roxas looked at Axel's green eyes.

'' Even if what I want to do is lie in bed and stare at the ceiling?''

'' Whatever you want.'' Axel repeated.

Roxas got up and changed shirt, putting a really bright yellow one on. He preferred black clothes, but his parents didn't know him the slightest and they thought he was so gloomy that maybe wearing bright colours would help him cheer up a little. It made Roxas so mad, but he had no money so he had to live with his bright clothes. Except when he took Axel's shirts. Even if they where way too big, Axel left him borrow them every now and then. Actually, the redhead wouldn't mind if Roxas always wear his shirts, but the blond felt bad to ask all the time, so more often than not he kept his colourful clothes.

Once he was wearing a fresh shirt, Roxas left the room without saying a word expecting Axel to just follow up.

'' Hey wait for me!'' Axel was still sitting on the younger teen's bed. He ran after his friend to catch up with him. He didn't have to run too far, Roxas was waiting for him by the stairs. The redhead wrapped his right arm around the short blond's shoulders, signifying he was right by his side.

Roxas sighed and together they got to the dining room where everyone was already eating. They took place at the end of the table, Axel next to Riku and Roxas on his right. The redhead turned his back to the rest of the crowd, creating a wall between them and Roxas. The blond was grateful about it. He liked to feel protected by his friend and he loved to feel what Axel was feeling as he protected him. For that moment being, Roxas felt at peace even in a room full of people.

'' What time are you leaving?'' Even if Roxas was okay right now, he couldn't help but think that it wouldn't last. He bit the inside of his cheek as he waited for Axel to answer.

The redhead sighed, turning a little more towards the table. '' They'll pick me up at 3.'' He knew Roxas knew the answer, it was never different. It was the agreement. He hated that the blond asked, it showed that he couldn't get his head off the fact that he would be left alone for the evening. Although it annoyed him, Axel pushed the feeling away trying not to upset Roxas.

The blond didn't answer anything he only looked at his plate that showed an almost untouched waffle and a handful of fruits.

'' I'll be back as soon as I can.'' Axel lifted the blond's chin gently with his long skinny fingers. He smiled looking from one blue eye to an other. Roxas nodded once.

 _I wish you didn't leave at all._ The blond thought. He didn't have to say it, he knew Axel was aware of that.

Roxas leaned his head on his friends hand and tried to push the thought of loneliness away. He could always watch a movie or something, although he didn't like to do such thing without Axel, without his friend the blond was never sure how to react to movies. It's as if by always channeling others' feelings he got confused about his own and how he should feel about different random things.

'' You can sleep if you like. I'm willing to pay Van to make sure you have nice dreams!'' He said the last part louder for the concerned teen to hear.

''What? No. I can't, I have plans tonight!'' Vanitas exclaimed himself. He had jumped as he heard his name being called by the redhead. He pointed his eyes towards the small blonde girl sitting beside him to pass a message. Even if Axel and him weren't friend, the redhead was aware of the dark haired boy's feelings towards Namine and Vanitas knew that Axel knew. He just hoped that he would understand the reference and be on his side on this.

'' It's okay, I don't feel like sleeping anyways.'' Roxas had saved Vanitas and the latest was glad because he had the feeling that Axel wouldn't have let it go.

Of course Roxas would have preferred to spend the evening sleeping rather than looking at the time every few minutes, but if Vanitas would help by using his hypnotic gift against his will, Roxas wouldn't be able to relax with the dark haired boy near.

Xion

Xion couldn't help but notice the weird conversation going on between Axel, Roxas and Vanitas. She had doubts on the latest's feelings for her roommate, now she was sure, but that wasn't what caught the ravenette's attention. What was is the Vanitas making sure Roxas had nice dreams thing?

She couldn't help but stare at the three boys, confused. Axel noticed and made eye contact with her, but didn't say anything. She felt her cheeks turn red as she was caught spying on the their private conversation, but axel smiled at her and it made her relax a little.

Xion couldn't help being curious, she was in a boarding school for gifted teens and she didn't know half of her comrade's gifts. It was driving her crazy. She promised herself she would have a chat with her roommates after breakfast, she couldn't just continue like this.

Like promised, after everything was cleaned up and everyone were free to do whatever they wanted, Xion followed her roommates to the west wing were they collapsed on the couches in their study hall.

'' Can I ask you guys something?'' She thought might as well immediately jump to the subject. She brought her feet up on the couch, folding her legs under her.

'' Sure! What's up?'' Kairi asked sitting a little straighter while Namine didn't move and kept picking at her chipped blue nail polish on her finger nails.

Xion took a few seconds to put her thoughts together before she spoke. '' Well, during breakfast, I heard Axel say something about Vanitas making sure Roxas had nice dreams. I just gotta know. What did he mean?'' She didn't realize she had stood up, so she walked towards the other couch and collapsed on it, leaving the other couch to the twins.

'' Oh.'' Kairi looked at her twin. ''You should tell her, he won't be mad at YOU.''

Namine pointed towards herself in shock like if she had no clue what the redhead meant. Mouthing ''Me?'' in the process. To which Kairi nodded in a obvious way, discourage to see that Namine was probably the only person on earth that was unaware of Vanitas' feelings towards her.

'' It's his gift!'' She shrugged.

The ravenette waited for the blond to continue, forgetting how confusing she could be. After a few seconds, she understood that her roommate wasn't going to clarify. '' Which is...'' She saw Kairi rolling her eyes at her sister and couldn't help a wry smile.

'' Right! He influences your dreams! He can basically make you dream anything he wants. If you have nightmares you can ask him to help you.'' She was smiling, proud of her explanations.

'' However, he will charge you. He never does it for free.'' Kairi clarified. Xion wasn't surprised seeing how the boy seemed snob.

'' No he won't!'' The blonde protested.

'' He only ever does it for free to you!'' Her sister said, rolling her eyes again. Namine frowned. Xion found amusing the exchange between the twins.

'' Okay... and can I ask you about the others' gifts? I already know you two's and Axel's and of course Demyx's, but that's it.'' Xion was tired of waiting so she just asked.

'' Well, we don't normally talk about the others' gifts. I wasn't happy when Roxas told you mine although I'm glad it made you change your mind on leaving. But, seriously, if you want to know you should just asked them. Except maybe Roxas, they'll probably be happy to tell you.'' Kairi grinned.

'' You sure?'' Xion wasn't sure she was comfortable with just asking the others like that. It's true that Axel simply told her this morning, but most of them she barely spoke to, she couldn't just go ask them about their gifts out of the blue. Could she?

Roxas

Roxas and Axel had spent the entire day lying around, not doing much. As soon as they came back from breakfast, the two friends had headed to the blond's room where Axel had collapsed and the younger teen's bed. The said teen had turned on his stereo playing a mixed CD the redhead had made him. It wasn't full of love songs like those cliché mixed tape they used to make in the 80's. It presented more emoish / screamoish songs. Some old stuff the older boy listened to a few years back: Saosin, underoath, The Used, Sum 41 and such. Although it wasn't a typical love mixed CD, it made the blond feel loved. Especially when he listened to it with Axel.

They had spent the entire day in each other's arms just listening to the CD until 3 o'clock showed on Roxas' alarm clock. The redhead left, promising Roxas he'd be back as soon as he could.

The blond had accompanied his friend to the door and even gave him a kiss before he left. They didn't exchange kisses very often because they made the blond feel bad. He didn't love Axel like the redhead did so, once they were separated and that Roxas couldn't feel Axel's emotions anymore, they made Roxas feel guilty.

As soon as his friend had left the mansion, Roxas glanced at the clock three o'five. He sighed, this was going to be a long day. He was kind of tired of hanging in his room, plus it would feel lonely now that Axel had left, so Roxas decided to go spend some time in the study room in front, the one all bright white.

 _School hasn't started yet, there won't be anyone to disturb me there._ He thought.

After an hour of staring at the ceiling, sitting on two feet of the furthest chair his own feet resting on the large table, someone came in. Immediately Roxas let the chair settle in its normal position. He turned to look at who had came in. It was Xion.

As soon as his eyes settled on the small girl, he felt a wave of annoyance strike him. Not his, hers, but it felt like his own feeling.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. '' What are you doing here?'' It sounded mean. Like last time he had a conversation with the girl, his words had passed his lips without his permission. It surprised them both. He bit the inside of his cheek, betraying his confident.

'' Hum, sorry I didn't know someone was in here...'' Xion stared at the blond, a eyebrow up. She was surprised to be greeted by such a bad mood. Although she didn't feel welcomed, the girl took a seat a few chairs away from the blond. She didn't feel like sitting there, but it was better than going back to the others.

''Yeah well, There is.'' Roxas snapped, not sure what to say. then the silence settled in and it became really awkward in the room. The ravenette was calming down and so was the blond.

As he felt her emotions lose the annoyance, Roxas started to feel this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach again. He started to play with a small thread that came from his yellow shirt. He avoided Xion's eye contact.

'' So, where's Axel?'' The blond jumped at the question. He was getting used to the silence he wasn't expecting the girl to speak.

'' What?'' It came out harsh and his voice broke. He was taken by surprise to the point that his head raised fast to stare at the girl who was looking at him with her blue eyes. He had understood the question, but it took him some time to process it. Xion had to repeat herself before he answered. '' He's with the social services.'' It wasn't a secret.

Xion nodded without saying anything and the silence came back. settling in for a few minutes once more.

Xion

Her afternoon had been the most bizarre she'd ever had. It turns out, after her conversation with the twins, Namine thought it was okay to speak of Xion's gift to whoever she wanted. So, when Demyx had asked her if she had seen Zexion, she told him to ask Xion because she could find stuff, even if the ravenette had specified to the blonde girl that it didn't work on humans on her first day at the boarding school.

Afterwards, Demyx kept asking her to find Zexion, to which she kept answering that she couldn't. But the blond didn't give up on that. He kept chasing Xion and asking to find different things his friend might have on him.

'' How about his keys?'' The blond would say.

'' Under his bed.''

'' His wallet?''

'' Under his bed.''

'' Oh right, he doesn't bring those on camping. His tent!?''

'' He doesn't have one!'' She knew because she couldn't find it.

She had finally lost Demyx when he had told her he would go fetch a photo of Zexion thinking it could help her. Thats when she hid in the study hall where Roxas was.

It was awkward being left alone with the blond boy, but it was still better than being chased around by the other dumbo.

'' Want ice cream? They have sea salt ice cream. It's my favorite. I'll go get some. Want one?'' Roxas had broken the silence. It had came out a whisper, but Xion had heard it. She was so surprised to hear him that for a split second she thought someone else had came into the room.

'' Sure, thanks.'' Xion answered nodding her head. She watch the boy as he stood up and left the room silently, his eyes on the ground.

The boy came back a few minutes later with two blue popsicles in his hands. He walked silently and handed one to Xion before sitting back in his seat. She thanked him before undoing the wrapper around the treat and tasting it.

'' hmm. It's salty, but sweet too.'' The girl looked at Roxas and smiled at the boy. Roxas nodded, taking a bite of his own ice cream.

Silence took back it's place in the room. It was killing Xion, she didn't want to feel awkward, but she couldn't help it she didn't know how to make the blond talk. She could feel something was wrong about him, but she didn't know what it was and she had no idea how to ask.

'' Axel leaves every Thursdays.'' The voice of the blond made the girl jump even if it was very low. Since Roxas could feel Xion's emotions, he wanted to break the silence just as bad as the girl. But, Xion didn't know that.

'' To meet the social services.'' Xion wanted to make him talk more so she tried to encourage the conversation hoping the blond would continue to speak. She took another bite of her ice cream.

'' Mm Mm.'' The blond nodded and swallowed the bite he was chewing. '' It's the deal he has. He can stay here as long as he meets them once a week. If he misses a meeting he might be taken to some juvenile centre.'' Roxas didn't look at the girl as he spoke. It surprised both of them how much he was opening up. He never did that, not even with Axel.

'' Can I ask why?'' The ravenette wasn't sure it was okay, but she wanted to know and seeing how the blond seemed okay talking about it she just thought she might as well ask.

Roxas smiled softly his eyes still on his treat half eaten. '' Well, before Axel came here, he did some stupid things. I don't know all the details, I did not know him at the time. He told me it had something to do with drugs. I think he was part of some gang. He's not really proud of any of this so he doesn't talk about it much.'' Even if he felt bad talking about his friend's past, it made him feel good to talk about Axel.

'' You seem to like him a lot.'' The ravenette was smiling, but Roxas couldn't see it because he kept his eyes on his ice cream.

'' It's complicated, but yeah, he's nice to me. More than I deserve.'' Roxas had lost his smile and was now bitting on the inside of his cheek.

Even if the blond wasn't looking at the girl, she was looking at him and noticed that he had lost his smile. She bit her bottom lip, grabbing her courage before she spoke. '' What's wrong?'' They weren't friends, she didn't know if she was stepping out of line by asking, but if she was, the blond would just tell her. Right?

Roxas

The weird feeling Roxas had was eating up to him taking all the place in his stomach making it hard to eat his ice cream. He didn't hate it. In contrary, he was starting to like it and it gave him the courage to speak to Xion, more than he normally did with anyone.

The girl's question had surprised the blond, he haven't notice that any of HIS feeling should be noticed. No one ever asked him what was wrong because everyone just always assumed he was channelling something from someone else, but right now he wasn't. HE felt bad, because he was thinking of how Axel felt and how he used him.

'' I... It's hard sometimes.'' He bit his bottom lip. He didn't know if he could tell the girl because he didn't want her to pity him. If he felt her pity, he was afraid the feeling in the pit of his stomach would fade away. On the other hand, he felt that she did care about his answer and he didn't want that to go away neither. '' It's my 'gift', like they call it. I channel peoples emotions. It's hard to control. Axel helps.''

Xion smiled, Roxas didn't see it, but he felt it. '' Thanks. For telling me.'' Slowly the blond lifted his head and looked at the girl for the first time since he had given her the ice cream. She had finished her popsicle while his was melting on his hands making them sticky. She was smiling softly to the blond and she wasn't pitying him, she really did feel grateful because he had shared. Roxas' heart felt warm and he smiled to her like he only did with Axel.

 **Author's note:** Hi guys! I am really really sorry it took so long for me to upload this! I have absolutely no excuse beside my laziness. This chapter has been typed for weeks, but I couldn't get myself to correct it. To make it up to you, I present you a chapter that as almost a thousand more words than my previous ones. I swear I'll try to update sooner next time!

So, Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Thanks also for your feedbacks, comments, likes and follows, I greatly appreciate everyone of them. I swear every notification I get for this makes me beyond happy!

So, please tell me what you think and stay tuned, things are about to change at Destiny's Home for Gifted ;)

-Your friendly neighborhood Aniche Lakiche :D


	4. First School Day

Chapter 4: First school day

Xion

Once Axel was back from his meeting with the social services, Roxas left Xion's side. They had spent the entire afternoon together, talking about their past and their lives. They did not energetically talk for hours, it was more casual and timid with comfortable silences, but they ended up knowing a lot about each other.

When Roxas decided to follow Axel upstairs, Xion found herself a little sad. Before leaving the room, the blond boy had glanced one last time at the ravenette and she could see in his eyes that he was sorry to leave.

They hadn't talked much for the rest of the week. Xion had spent most of her time with Kairi and Namine. Hearing all about the evening the blonde had spent with Vanitas that Thursday. Obviously, the girl was starting to return the boys' feelings.

Once it was the weekend, Xion and a group decided to go shopping for their school supplies. Better late than never! School was starting on Monday and half of them still didn't have their material for the new year.

Axel drove her, Namine, Vanitas and Roxas to the mall. Xion was surprised to see Roxas follow since he had told her how he hated being around too many people. She guessed it must've had something to do with the fact that he wanted to spend as much time as he could with Axel before school started.

They had spent almost the entire day shopping for school supplies and for clothes, well Namine bought some clothes. Xion and Vanitas would have uniforms for school so they didn't need any. As for Roxas, he didn't go to school and he didn't have any money, finally Axel just stayed with the blond boy.

The ravenette had enjoyed her day with the other members of the home, although she did feel a little put aside. Namine and Vanitas stuck together, obviously hitting on each other. The boy followed the girl everywhere and complimented her on all the clothes she tried on and Namine took his hand every opportunity she had. As for Roxas and Axel, the blond held on for dear life onto the redhead's hand. Xion stayed close to those two though because the two others were really starting to get on her nerves. Plus, she enjoyed the duo's company even if she felt like a third wheel.

Sunday was the last day before school started. Xion was a little nervous, so she woke up early. Just like Thursday, the mansion was dead silent. She got dressed making sure not to wake her roommates and sneaked downstairs. This time no one was in the kitchen when she went to grab something to eat. The sun was already shinning out, so she decided to eat her cereal outside on the porch.

It wasn't hot outside, but it wasn't cold either. Xion sat on the first step leading to the yard. It was peaceful and she enjoyed it. She was trying not to think too much about the next day, but it was eating up to her. It was a lot to digest in a week, moving in a house full of strangers, starting high school in a school where you don't know anyone. Plus, she didn't want to admit it to herself, but it made her sad that her parents didn't call her all week. Her father she wasn't surprised, but her mother always made an effort at caring. She wasn't the most considerate, but she was able to show her daughter that she loved her. She had protested when her father had decided to send Xion away. Well, protested is a big word, she did not approve right away.

Xion took a mouthful of fruit loops as she heard the patio door behind her open. She turned around, chewing on the cereal, to see who was standing there.

Roxas

Roxas hadn't slept at all that night. It was sunday, Axel would leave to spend the day with his mother, like always, and then school would start and he'd be gone everyday for hours. Sure, Roxas would be occupied with his own schooling, but he knew that it would be like last years. Everyday would feel like years and he'd feel empty all the time. He wouldn't be able to concentrate and Aerith would try to fix him like any shrink would do.

When the sun started to light his room, Roxas was staring at the ceiling. He had done that all night, but he couldn't see it until now. The night before, Axel had offered once again to pay Vanitas to help him sleep, but the blond refused, he didn't feel like being numbed by false dreams.

The only thing he was grateful for, and he felt bad about it, was being alone in the room still. Friday, cops came to search the room to find clues on where Zexion could be. He had been interrogated by the cops, like everyone in the Home and still they had no news.

Roxas didn't want to think about it too much though, it's not like he could do anything. He glanced at his alarm clock - 7 a.m. - he sighed and decided to get up. He thought about waking Axel up, the redhead would be up in about half an hour anyways, but finally decided not to. He knew that before he left, Axel would come and say goodbye, and Roxas didn't like that so he decided to leave is room. Maybe Axel wouldn't be able to find him and wouldn't be able to tell him he was leaving.

The blond left his room and took in the calmness of the mansion. He was rarely up this early, so he didn't experiment this silent so often. He slowly walked to the main area and asked himself where could he go that Axel couldn't find him.

 _Outside. I never go outside, he won't think of looking there._ The answer was obvious.

Before sliding the patio door, Roxas stopped as he saw a small girl with short black hair sitting on the porch's stairs her back facing him. Immediately he recognized Xion. He took a deep breath and brushed his fingers in his hair to fix his spikes before he opened the door.

The girl slowly turned around, a bowl of cereal in hand. She smiled at him, obviously her mouth full of food. Roxas bit the inside of his cheek as he felt the strange feeling again mixed with her feelings of stress. He softly returned her smile and waved at her.

'' Hey! Couldn't sleep either?'' She had asked after she swallowed her cereal. She pushed aside to make place for the blond to sit.

Roxas hesitated before taking place beside the girl. He sat a the very end of the stair to be sure not to be too close to her. He nodded looking at his feet.

'' Aren't you hungry?'' Xion was looking at the blond. He didn't see her because he kept his eyes on his feet, but he felt her eyes on him.

'' I don't eat much when I wake up.'' It was the first thing he said that day so his voice sounded harsh and it almost broke.

He lifted his head slowly and looked at the girl. He immediately felt bad because he was still wearing his pyjamas which where a pair of black jugging pants and a way too big sky blue shirt. On the other hand, Xion was dressed, she wore a pair of jeans shorts that showed her slim pale legs and a three quarter sleeve shirt striped black and white that fitted her perfectly. Roxas felt his cheeks warm up and wrapped his arms around his ribs to try to hide the unfitted shirt.

Xion was nodding her head '' Hey, you okay?''

'' ye-yeah. I... it's Sunday.'' he stuttered.

'' Right. Axel's spending the day with his mom.'' She knew, he had told her Thursday. It made him jumped though, he had forgotten he had opened up that much, plus it surprised him to see that she remembered. '' Wanna hang out?'' Roxas jumped again when Xion slowly rested her hand on his shoulder. The first thing he thought was that it was a pity proposition, but she didn't pity him, he knew it. In contrary, she felt hopeful, like she really wish he'd say yes.

He hesitated while biting the inside of his cheek, a nervous tic he often showed. Finally, he nodded '' Okay, sure.'' Xion grinned. Roxas didn't see it because he had his eyes on his feet, but he felt it and it warmed his heart. He told himself that doing something would occupy time until the redhead came back, but the truth is he really wanted to spend some time with the ravenette.

Axel had left at some point, and like Roxas wanted he didn't say goodbye, probably didn't find him. The blond boy got dressed a little after the redhead was gone and he and Xion spent the entire day together. They didn't do much, they sat in the main area and played board games. They didn't even talk all that much, but it was nice. At some point they exchanged cellphone numbers so they could text each other during school hours.

Time had flown by and Roxas was surprised when he saw Axel standing behind Xion. He looked concern and the blond didn't know what to do, he rarely saw is friend in such a weird mood.

The ravenette noticed her new friend staring behind her so she turned around to find the redhead. '' Hi Axel, wan't to join us? We were about to start a game of Skipbo.''

'' No thanks, I'm heading for the showers.'' He answered never breaking eye contact with the blond.

Roxas stood up and told Xion he'd be back before running after his friend. As soon as he caught up with him, he pressed himself in a tight hug against the redhead's chest. He felt the warmth submerge him and the deep love Axel felt towards him, but he also felt something else, something he didn't like and Axel didn't return his hug. '' What's wrong?'' He asked, pulling away a little to look the taller teen in the eyes.

'' Rox, don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're making friends, really. It's just, you made me worry all day.'' He sighed and finally hugged the blond, resting his chin in the blond hair. '' I couldn't find you before I left and with Zexion who disappeared I was afraid that-'' He cut himself, unable to finish his phrase. Roxas felt Axel's concern blend with the warm feeling of his love and it made his stomach feel tighter.

'' I... I'm sorry. I... It's just... you know I hate goodbyes. I hate seeing you leave.'' Roxas was pressing his face against the older teen's chest, taking in all the warmth in and trying to ignore all of the painful feeling.

'' I know, I would've liked to have a note.'' He sighed in the blond hair and kissed the top of Roxas' head. '' You know what? Go back to your Skipbo game, I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll join you two for the next game. Sounds good?''

Roxas pulled away a little and grin at the redhead. He knew Axel was more relief than mad at this point. He slowly let his friend leave towards the showers and kept staring at him until he turned the corner of the boy's wing. Only then did he let a sigh escape his breath and his shoulder down.

Axel meant a lot for the blond teen, he couldn't bare the thought of him being mad. Mostly, he couldn't stand the fear of someday loosing this wave of warm love covering him. If he lost this, Roxas didn't know if he'd survive it. Before Axel, Roxas felt like an empty shell, only when he met the redhead did he start feeling alive again. He wasn't about to let this go just now.

Xion

The rest of the evening, Xion had stayed with the two boys. It made her smile to see how close those two were. Also, spending some time with her new friends kept her thoughts away from her school day tomorrow.

Has she was lying in her bed she thought about the day she had spent with the blond teen and the evening with him and the redhead. It was fun. Although she was sad that neither of them would be in the same school as her the next day, she felt a little of comfort knowing that they were only a text message away.

She turned facing the wall, the room was dark and Xion could hear the two other girls breathing slowly in the beds close to her's. It hit her how much they sounded alike as they slept since their personalities were so different. _Like a reversed mirror_. She thought to herself. She smiled slowly feeling a warm feeling of belonging somewhere for once in her life and finally fell asleep.

The next day came faster than she thought. When the ravenette opened her eyes, the room was bright and the curtains were pulled open. She turned on her back and saw, from the corner of her eyes, Kairi all dressed up doing her hair and Namine still in her pyjamas going through her drawers to find what she would be wearing.

Xion sighed, she took the blankets off of her slowly and rubbed her eyes with the back of her right hand.

'' Hey Xi, I have something for you.'' Namine said as she noticed the ravenette waking up. She yawned and walked slowly towards Xion's bed before handing her a piece of paper the size of a credit card.

'' What is it?'' Xion slowly took the paper in her hands and turned it to see the other side.

The blonde girl shrugged.'' Drew this yesterday.'' She turned and walked back to her part of the room.

Xion looked carefully at the drawing and saw a quick draft of her being pushed by something that looked like another girl.

 _Great! Bullying on first day! Must be a record._ The dark haired girl thought. _So much for not being nervous._ She rolled her eyes.

The ravenette had been bullied before, it would be nothing new, but she had thought that starting in a new school in a town far away from home where no one knew her would make things different.

'' I thought I'd give it to you so you can keep your guards up. Want me to ask Van to stick with you? You might have classes in common.'' Namine was trying to be nice as she was dressing up putting on a pair of bright blue skinny jeans and a pink t-shirt saying ' You're not the boss of me' . All it did though is make Xion even more nervous.

'' No thanks, I'll be okay. Thank you for warning me.'' Xion grabbed her school uniform and headed for the showers. She always took her shower in the morning it made it easier for her to wake up.

As she was walking out, she could here Kairi complaining on her sister's shirt saying it wasn't appropriate for a first day of school.

Once she was ready for school, Xion went outside where she had been indicated to wait for the bus. Sora and Vanitas were already there. They would be the only three from the mansion to attend the private school. The ravenette was happy Sora was there, she found him fun to be around.

On the bus she sat next to the cinnamon haired boy, Vanitas in the seat in front. Not even two minutes after the bus picked them up, Xion's phone rang for a text message.

Rox: '' Have a nice first day of school! :)''

Xion smiled. She had told Roxas that it made her nervous to start in a new school and it warmed her heart to see that he he was thinking about her.

Xi: '' Thks! You too! Hope the day will go by fast! ^^''

Rox: '' Yeah! Me 2. Axel said he might come home earlier today! :D''

XI: ''How come?''

Rox: '' Idk, he said it's not that bad if he misses last period... Hopefully he won't get caught! haha''

Xion couldn't help but smile as she was messaging her new friend. It hit her how much he sounded comfortable and normal when he texted.

'' Who are you talking to? You sure look happy.'' Sora had playfully pushed her with his shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

Xion had almost forgot where she was. Sora was staring at her waiting for an answer as for Vanitas he was on his own phone, not paying any attention to his two comrades.

Xion cleared her throat before speaking. '' With Roxas.'' She didn't see any reason to hide it. But, Sora's reaction surprised her.

'' Oh. Him. Hope he's not bothering you with all his gloom and sorrow.'' He was rolling his eyes and shaking his head slowly.

Xion frowned. She had no idea of the relationship between the two cousins and the opinion that nice and bubbly Sora had towards the blond boy surprised her. She almost didn't say anything because of how destabilized the brunet's comment made her.

'' Hum... N-No?'' She still showed a frown while stuttering her answer.

'' Good then.'' Sora shrugged.

The rest of the bus ride remained silent. Sora had put his headphones back on, Vanitas was turning his back to the two others, texting who knows who and Xion had drawn her attention to the outside world from her window, forgetting all about texting Roxas back.

The day was going okay, the ravenette kept her guards up because of Namine's drawing. But nothing bad happened until lunch.

The bell rang it's usual musical theme that probably every school has. Xion had left her math-class where she knew no one and attended to join her two comrades from her home for lunch. Her parents had bought her the cafeteria card which was allowing her a hot meal and a snack a day for the entire year. The ravenette didn't know how much this thing could cost, but she had no doubt that it was way too expensive for speghetti and meatballs or pepperoni and cheese pizza - it's not because it's a private school that they serve fancy food.

Xion had gotten her tray of what looked like frozen lasagna and was now looking for the two boys. _Man this cafeteria is huge!_ The girl thought as she was walking between the rows of tables filled with hungry teens.

She spotted the two spiky haired heads and sped up to join them. She had almost reached the boys' table when her tray went back and hit her directly on the chest, covering her entire white blouse with diluted tomato sauce. Everything had went so fast that Xion did not understand what had happened before she heard a violent laugh coming from her right.

'' OMG Xion! Do you need a bib?'' The ravette turned her attention towards the voice while trying to get the most of the lasagna off of the white fabric.

Her blue eyes met bright green ones. She didn't know them, in fact, she had never seen this girl before.

'' Larxene you are hilarious!'' An other girl with dark brown hair added.

Xion was blinking at the scene. Something confused her: how did this Larxene know her name? She was so in shock that she had forgotten to move. She was going over all the people she had seen in her classes since morning in her head and she couldn't find one fraction of a moment where she could have seen this girl. Plus, she looked like she was at least a junior, so how could she have known her?

'' What's going on Xion? No one thought you how to talk yet? Is it your parental issues or are you trying to find your tongue? Shouldn't be too hard for you!'' She winked.

''Wha-'' Xion didn't have time to finish her sentence that a brunette boy was in her vision followed by a darker spiky head that looked heavily bored.

''What's your problem?! Don't you have a life?'' Sora had defended Xion who looked even more confused now that the blonde girl had referred directly to her personal life. '' Are you okay Xi?'' Sora had taken the tray out of Xion's hand and left it on an empty table. He was now dragging the small ravenette away from the laughters. Vanitas wasn't too far behind.

Roxas

Roxas had woken up when Axel had came to tell him he was leaving. He didn't get up right away though. The blond boy waited until he couldn't hear anymore noises in the house.

He started texting his two friends not long after that. He felt empty without anyone around, but he also felt at peace for not having to deal with no one else's emotions or stress for this new school year.

At first he started by texting Axel, but he knew the redhead would answer him no matter what and he didn't want to get him trouble. He was already going to skip one class on the first day only to be back by Roxas' side sooner, he didn't need to get in trouble for using his phone in class on top of that.

As he walked in the dining room ready to eat the breakfast leftovers, he started texting his new friend, Xion. He knew that she wouldn' t be at school yet since her bus-ride was longer than the one to go to public school so there was no way she would be busted for using her phone.

At first the blond boy wasn't sure if he should text the ravenette because they had just exchanged numbers the day before, plus he wasn't used to be the one to push a friendship to work. But, like Aerith said in their last session, he should try to show a little more confident and take action every opportunity he gets. This was an opportunity!

So, he took a deep breath and texted her first and to his surprise, it was easy. Apparently talking to someone who's not close for him to sense them makes things way more easier.

Everything was fine until Xion didn't answer anymore. That's when Roxas started to loose all ''confident'' he was trying to put up.

Rox: '' Have a nice first day of school! :)''

Xi: '' Thks! You too! Hope the day will go by fast! ^^''

Rox: '' Yeah! Me 2. Axel said he might come home earlier today! :D''

XI: ''How come?''

Rox: '' Idk, he said it's not that bad if he misses last period... Hopefully he won't get caught! haha''

And than nothing.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have talked about Axel skipping school. What if this offended her?_ He was questioning himself, trying desperately to figure out what he had done wrong.

 _Now what does she think? Maybe that we don't take school seriously? What if that's a good enough reason for her to stop hanging out with us? Why does that even makes me upset?_

Roxas had stopped eating. He only had picked on a piece of toast that now rested on his white plate. He was suppose to meet Aerith in her office in ten minutes and he wasn't even dressed yet, but he wasn't moving. Only starring at his phone trying to figure out what to write.

Rox: '' Not that we don't take school - ''

 _No, that's not good! it shows my lack of confident._ *Erase*

Rox: '' I told him to go, he just - ''

 _No, I can't put the blame on Axel._ *Erase*

After another five ''write-n-erase'' Roxas dropped his phone on the table. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on top of them. He hated this. He didn't know what ''this'' was but, he hated it.

The blond boy was good at interpreting others' feelings, bad at channeling them, but good at interpreting them. But, when it was his own feelings he was channeling, he just got confused. He felt like they were so unclear, most of the time he only felt numb and empty when no one was around, but when he felt things they were just too intense for him to figure them out.

A beeping sound came from his phone. It was his alarm to indicate he should be at Aerith's office.

''Shoot! I'm late!'' The blond ran upstairs and made a quick stop to his empty room that he was no longer sharing with anyone since Zexion never came back. He didn't like to look at the empty side, so he had hung a sheet in the middle to hide the other half of the room.

He got dressed with a very bright blue t-shirt showing a surf board that he found looked really stupid, but whatever. Than he ran to the other side of the mansion where the counsellor's office was. He stopped in front of the wooden door to catch his breath and then knocked on it.

...

...

After a few minutes, he knocked again because no one came to the door.

...

...

 _That's weird, it is past 9._ Roxas checked his phone to make sure it was in fact past 9 and it was. Never was the counsellor late.

He was frowning at the door, unsure what to do.

'' Hum... miss Aerith?'' He turned the handle and it was unlocked. He walked in the small office. It was dark, the curtains were pulled shut and no lights were on. Of course, no one was in there.

'' Maybe there's some traffic or an accident on the road or something.'' Roxas Thought out loud. It must have been it, because she never missed a meeting with the blond ever since he got to the mansion. Not even once she called in sick. As a matter of fact, she never were late either.

Roxas was nervously playing with the bottom of his shirt, unsure if he should sit in the office and wait for the woman or stay in the hall. Every few seconds he'd check his phone to see what time it was, and a little to see if he'd receive a message from one of his friends. Anything to keep his mind off the awkwardness of the situation he was in.

10 minutes had went by, before he decided to just sit on the floor beside the door he had shut. He had brought his knees up to his chest and leaned his forehead on them, still waiting.

An other ten minutes passed before finally a voice caught his attention.

'' You must be Roxas?'' It was a man's voice.

Roxas frowned before looking at the person in front of him. It was a tall man with long pink hair. He was wearing a white button up blouse leaving the two top buttons open the show a little body hair. The blouse was tucked in his black well suited pants. He looked classy and casual at the same time. But, Roxas sensed that something wasn't right.

'' hum...yes?'' It came out a question as if he wasn't sure who he was suppose to be.

'' My name is Marluxia, I'm the new counsellor. I'll be replacing Aerith for the next few weeks.'' He smiled before opening the door to the office.

'' Where is she?'' The blond teen couldn't help himself but ask. He felt weird in the presence of this man. A little confident, but that was just him reflecting the man's energy. What was weird was this little taste of maliciousness Roxas didn't like.

'' Oh she's sick, nothing serious. Don't worry about that. You may come in.'' Marluxia was walking in the office opening the curtains while speaking, not looking at the blond.

Roxas hadn't notice he was standing in the doorway, not moving. He found it weird that his previous counsellor hadn't warned him that she wouldn't be present for a few weeks. How long was a few weeks anyway? Roxas was confused, and he didn't like that he had to start over with a new person. It was hard for him to trust someone and be comfortable in their presence. He had been to so many therapy growing up and never was he able to open up until he met Aerith. She was aware of that. How could she entrust him to someone else without talking to him about it first?

'' Don't just stay there, come in! I don't bite!'' The pink haired man laughed at his own comment.

Roxas hesitantly walked in, but didn't close the door behind him. The counsellor being still up, walked around the desk and closed it himself without saying a word before walking back to his chair and finally sitting.

The blond teen was nervously bitting the inside of his cheek, waiting for the man to start talking. The said man was concentrated on some document he was reading, not paying attention to the blond.

'' So how long have you been here?'' The man asked still showing only the top of his pink head to the teen, as he read.

'' Humm...'' When Roxas wasn't sure if he could trust someone he had come up with a system. Before answering a question, he would analyze it and classify it as a safe question or an unsafe question. Safe ones were the ones that didn't give too much informations about him. The principle was easy: If more than five people knew the answer, it was a safe question, if not it was unsafe. This one was a safe one. '' Over a year.''

Still only showing the top of his pink hair, Marluxia continue to go through a document neatly stapled in a folder. He showed no sighs that he acknowledged Roxas' answer if it wasn't that he continued to ask. '' What about your comrades?'' He showed little to none emotion in his voice and Roxas found it annoying coming from someone who claimed to be a professional counsellor.

'' What about them?'' He sighed while answering. The teenager could feel that the pink haired man was starting to get annoyed and he didn't know why, but he was channeling and it made him nervous. He didn't want to start a fight with this new comer because first he didn't like fights and second the man scared him a little.

Marluxia sighed heavily and rolled his eyes as he lifted his head and finally looked at the blond boy. '' How long have they been here?''

Unsafe. Roxas couldn't determine if this was classify or not since it wasn't about him. '' Why are you asking me about them? Aren't we suppose to be doing school stuff?''

The man frowned and showed a half smile to the teen. '' You are right, I just thought that...'' He paused, scratching his chin. '' Well, we could get to know each other first.''

Roxas didn't answer that, but blinked at the man, still annoyed by the situation.

'' So, who are you closest to here?'' The man understood he wouldn't get an answer for his previous question from the teen, it didn't matter he could just go through files latter. He just moved on with his questions.

It was a basic question and absolutely everyone could answer this for Roxas so it was safe. '' Hum... Axel.''

'' Okay, and when have you met this Axel?'' Marluxia had his nose back in the file in front of him, turning the pages slowly.

Safe.'' When I got here. He's the one who showed me around.'' It could kind of be questions that a normal counsellor would ask, but still Roxas wasn't sure.

'' And what is he to you?''

Unsafe. He couldn't answer a question even he didn't know the answer. '' A friend?''

Xion

'' You are such a show off.'' Vanitas judge Sora as the three comrades came home from their first day at their private school.

Xion didn't know what the two of them were talking about because she hadn't spent last period with them as they were in gym. Gym classes was divided by genders, so she was in the other gymnasium than the two boys in last period. - Of course this school had two gymnasiums.

'' You are just jealous.'' the brunet was walking in the middle and had both his hands behind his head.

'' Of what? I two have a gift! You're not THAT special.'' Vanitas shook his head.

'' What are you guys talking about?'' Xion had a hard time following the conversation.

'' Just that, Sora, here, likes to demonstrate his capacity to the entire world because he's such an attention whore.'' He rolled his eyes while the brunet smiled big time.

'' Sora!'' The three stopped walking as they heard a voice from behind. It was Kairi running up to them followed by her sister.

'' Hey Kai.'' He gave his girlfriend a quick peck.

'' Have anything for me?'' She asked while hanging onto his hand.

He pulled a sweaty gym shirt from his bag and gave it to the small girl. She hugged it tight and breathed in slowly. '' Woah! You are amazing! Seems like someone had a good day.'' She smiled as her eyes shined with awe.

Xion watch the exchange and frowned trying not to judge. _We all are pretty damaged it seems here._ She thought.

''Well, it was easy, I pulled a stunt I had seen on t.v. last week.''

'' Okay, see you all later I'm going inside before I start vomiting!'' Vanitas exclaimed before running to the door.

'' Wish I had a gift like you!'' Kairi was hugging her boyfriend tight.

'' I'm glad I can share all this with you!'' He was holding her back.

Xion felt awkward just standing there until she was joined by Namine. '' Sora replicates what he sees... He probably did some demonstration in gym class that he's seen somewhere.''

'' Ohhh...'' That explains Vanitas reaction.

''Yup... and my sister just loves to feed on those souvenirs. You probably think we're really messed up.'' Namine spoke to Xion as they both stayed a certain distance from the couple they were staring at.

''I never felt more at my place.'' She laughed.

'' Welcome home.'' They smiled at each other. '' Oh, I almost forgot, made this during lunch.'' She handed her a sheet of lined paper.

Xion grabbed it and frowned as she looked at the drawing. It showed the same girl who had bullied her at lunch time, but this time she was sitting on Xion's bed.

Roxas

'' He kept asking weird questions, Axel, I think something bad is going on.'' Roxas was sitting on the floor in his room with Axel. Like promised the older teen came home earlier than he was suppose to and they had been like this for awhile now.

'' I'm sorry you had to go through that, but maybe Aerith is sick. You know she's not just working here, she has a life outside this place. Maybe she's going through a rough patch. She'll probably be back sometime soon.'' Axel was brushing Roxas' hair. The blond was sitting with his back leaning against the redhead's chest. Axel's knees on either side of the blond.

'' I hope you're right. But, I really don't like him, I can't believe I have to spend every day with him for at least this week.'' Roxas lifted his head to look at his friend.

'' You can do it! You've been through worst. If anyone can manage a non competent counsellor it must be you.'' He kissed the blond's forehead.

'' I wish you were there too. It would be so much easier.''

'' I'll be one text message away and I promise every day after school I'll be in here and we can talk like this... Except tuesday. Maybe Xion can spend the evening with you that day.''

They both sighed and stayed silent a while before Axel suggested they got up and joined the others for diner.

They went down and joined the other teens that were already sitting at the dining table in their usual spot.

Everything was normal until half through diner Riku got up and caught everyones attention.

'' Hum... Guys, where's Demix?'' Everybody looked at the empty place where he usually sat and silent fell in the dining room.

 **Auther's note:**

Hi guys! First of all I am verry verry sorry it took so long for me to update this story. Last time it was IN JULY! Everything as been so hectic, there has been so many changes in my life that I just didn't have any time to write, let alone correct. But, here it is! So, I went over this chapter real quick to make sure I could upload it ASAP, so I'm sorry for any mistakes or misspelling or typos or anything else that doesn't work. Feel free to point them out if you wish.

Second, thanks for the likes and follow and all, it is so appreciated! I hope my neglect doesn't discourage you from following my story. I promise I have no intentions in abandoning this. So, their will be updates! I just can't assure you when... Sorry... :(

Anyhow, I swear I will do my best to update soon. I know I've said this before and it ended up taking me three months before I've published this chapter, but hey, I said I was sorry!

So, please comment or like or follow... I promise I answer every comment I get and they are all greatly appreciated!

Till next time!

\- Aniche Lakiche.


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